Juliology

by Nicolas Pesquès, Cole Swensen, Nicolas Pesqus

Poetry. Translated from the French by Cole Swensen. JULIOLOGY is an extended poetic meditation on a mountain (Juliau) that is visible from the poet's house in the Ardeche region of south-central France. Focusing in particular on the flowering yellow English broom that covers the mountain in spring, Pesques intermingles close observation with a philosophical reflection on the roles and potentials of language. Both lyrical and abstract, both grounded and rangy, the text takes us inward toward systems of representation at the same time that it directs us outward into the real world that they try, but perhaps never quite manage, to represent.

72 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2008

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you want me to say about it? What could I possibly say after reading it? I would be such a pain in the ass if I said anything at all. To dream to read this poem. Sans surrealism. Sans climbing up anything and falling down. Sans self-consciousness. I could go on about all the things the poem isn't and get you nowhere. I just don't want to write over anything. Or lift anything out. You'll just have to read it, won't you.